Wharton County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna pass it on to you. Wharton County. Out here on the Texas coastal plain, this piece of ground has a name, and that name carries some weight.

The county was created on April 3, 1846, carved right out of Matagorda and Jackson counties. Organized that same year. Didn't waste any time.

Now, a county needs a name, and the people behind this one reached back to a pair of brothers who had already left their mark on the young republic before most of the ink was even dry. William H. Wharton, born in 1806, died in 1839.

He served as Texas minister to the United States from 1836 to 1837, carryin' the cause of the new republic all the way to Washington. And then there's his brother, John A. Wharton, born in 1809, died in 1839.

John was Adjutant at San Jacinto, one of the most consequential pieces of ground in all of Texas history, and he went on to serve as a member of the Congress of the Republic of Texas from 1837 to 1839. Two brothers. Same name on the county.

Both gone by 1839, before the county that would carry their name even existed. That's the kind of thing that makes you sit quiet for a moment. The county seat, fittingly, is Wharton itself.

Some names just keep going.

What the marker says

Wharton County, created April 3, 1846, from Matagorda and Jackson counties, Organized same year. Named for William H. Wharton, 1806-1839, Texas minister to the United States 1836-1837, and his brother John A. Wharton 1809-1839. Adjutant at San Jacinto; member of Congress of the Republic of Texas 1837-1839. Wharton the county seat.